Feature

When aesthetics were coming at a price too dear, a techie-packaging pair of friends seized the gap in the market to launch a “reasonably priced” home fashion brand — Vaaree. A year on, it has had one seed round, and in the last few months the 50% month-on-month growth, brings hope for greater things in the future. A texfash.com exclusive.

A rainforest nut that falls off a huge palm tree provides an organic alternative to the ubiquitous button required by the fashion industry as a necessary accessory and at times even an embellishment. Ecuador-based Trafino SA is one of the largest enterprises in the business of exporting these ‘blanks’ made from the tagua nut. texfash.com talks to its Executive President Ignacio Maya to know more. 

The urge to gift an enduring piece of Punjab’s legacy, and the lack of it, led to the setting up of Aab Label, a contemporary brand that draws inspiration from the hand-embroidered heritage craft of phulkari. Founder Shreya Mehra shares her story.

An entrepreneur-driven industry, the apparel kidswear sector in India is forecast to grow at 14.5% CAGR during 2021–26. And making a play for it is a 100% boot-strapped mobile app-based B2B aggregator platform—KidCity—as it onboards retailers, manufacturers and some other critical cogs in this ecosystem. Could it emerge as a catalyst to change the status quo of the last five decades or more? Tech-enabled, will it work like a magic wand to resolve the inherent structural problems? texfash.com explores.

Far away in the Iberian Peninsula of Portugal, a textile designer has developed a patent-pending solution from the abundantly available cork to handcraft sustainable rugs using traditional weaving techniques. Meet Susana Godinho.

What’s common to movies like Jagga Jasoos, Mubarakan, Aisha, Desi Boyz, Teri Meri Kahaani, Shootout at Wadala, Besharam, and Main Tera Hero? What do filmy Mumbaiya A-listers like Ranbir Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Shahid Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor, Aditya Roy Kapoor, and lots of others share? The answer is Kunal Rawal—the go-to fashion designer for many of our dashing heroes. The Kunal Rawal Label from this alumnus of the London College of Fashion is a luxury contemporary brand, and his Dstress store in...

You swirl the golden liquid in a cup first. Take a whiff of the aroma. Have a sip. Roll it around in your mouth to release the flavours. They could be full-bodied, floral, fruity or acidic; the tannins could be either subtle or pronounced. The methods for distinguishing good tea from a mediocre one are similar to wine, so why not bring the two together? That’s the thought that led Guwahati-based entrepreneur Alpana Saikia to craft the state’s first ‘tea wine’ using Assam CTC (crush, tear, curl)...

The classic white-gold saree from Kerala — the kasavu — may have travelled beyond its shores but nothing can beat its crisp rustles and shimmer in temples and homes on Onam, the harvest festival. The 10-day Onam celebrations began yesterday and the demand for the kasavu is “still quite subdued but much better” than what it was in 2020 when the pandemic had made a stronghold in the coastal state. In this land guarded by Lord Vishnu and also referred to as God’s own country, the traditional...

A CEO resigns her job, sells her apartment, breaks all her fixed deposits to follow her passion, and make a success of it From 2 co-workers to 200 From a part-time office allowed to function in a kindergarten school to a clientele of almost 400 These are just three instances in a country with the third largest — after the US and China — start-up ecosystem in the world. Now close your eyes. And, imagine. The excitement and fear as one by one she dismantles the ecosystem around her – Secure, high...

The derring-do to think out of the box, nay boxes. To chart the uncharted even in the face of skid-offs. To simplify the toughest issue at hand applying an Aristotelian principle – these are just some of the rules that have perhaps helped the most influential serial entrepreneur of this century to up and emend his game, project after project. Read how. How does one write of a man one has only read about, only on the World-Wide Net? How does one sift and sort through all those thousands of clicks...